Play Ball!

Today is the first Spring Training game for the Cincinnati Reds, it is 32 days until Opening Day, and I dropped C off this morning at a baseball mini-camp put on by our high school team. C wore his baseball pants and last year’s C-league jersey and hat. I got this big stupid grin on my face seeing him in his uniform again, and when we got to the high school and everywhere you looked there were cute boys in baseball uniforms, the grin got even bigger. And not in a creepy way. Baseball season is almost here!!!

Last year we were lucky enough to attend the Reds’ Opening Day game for the first time. It was soooooo cold, but so much fun. The game was so exciting, won at the end by a Ramon Hernandez walk-off homer.

Me, C, and Jonny Gnomes at the Opening Day Parade

The game was not off to a good start. Pitcher Edinson Volquez gave up homeruns to the first two Brewers who came to the plate. (Unfortunately, giving up multiple homers in early innings happened several more times that season to Volquez.) Milwaukee led 6-3 going in to the bottom of the ninth. But with the Reds down 6-4, catcher Ramon Hernandez hit a 3-run blast to give Cincy the win. It was a great finish to our first Opening Day.

This year we’ll be watching the opener from home, but we’re already planning a ballpark-themed feast. And to help with the atmosphere, we’ll play our baseball “mix-tape,” the CD we made to play in the car on our way to games last year. It’s a mix of songs about baseball, songs played during the game, and some of the walk-up songs for the players. Here is the playlist:

Take Me Out to the Ballgame by Dr. John, from Ken Burns’ Baseball for PBS

Centerfield by John Fogerty

Viva la Vida by Coldplay, Scott Rolen’s at-bat music

Swing by Trace Adkins, not actually about baseball, but upbeat and fun

Ain’t Going Down (Til the Sun Comes Up) by Garth Brooks, at-bat song for Paul Janish, who often popped out before we even finished singing the first verse

The Cheap Seats by Alabama

I Gotta Feeling by the Black Eyed Peas

Firework by Katy Perry

Take Me Out to the Ballgame, instrumental

Cha Cha Slide by Mr. C…everybody clap your hands!

I Like to Move It by will.i.am

Don’t Bring Me Down by ELO…don’t bring me down, (Jay) Bruce!

Cobrastyle by Teddybears featuring Mad Cobra…we have no idea what they’re saying in this song, but they play it at the park and it is the “bom diggy bom dig de dan de dan diggy diggy”

Gonna Make You Sweat by C+C Music Factory, this is really a mistake…I was trying to find the song where they go “I got the power” but I still can’t remember any more of that song

Bon, Bon by Pitbull, but we like to sing “boom” instead of bon…Ramon Hernandez, Opening Day hero’s walk-up music, and another one where we don’t understand the words, but C likes the part where it sounds like he says “Home Depot”

All Star by Smash Mouth

Bang the Drum All Day by Todd Rundgren, in honor of the ‘Rock Drum Cam’ at the park; unfortunately, this seems to have replaced ‘Cheesy Dance Cam’

You Ain’t Seen Nothing Yet by BTO, required listening at any sports event

U Can’t Touch This by MC Hammer, favored by the Reds during their wire-to-wire run to winning the World Series in 1990

Celebration by Kool & the Gang, going back to the 80’s, the song played in Riverfront Stadium after Reds wins

We’ll probably make a few tweaks this year, depending on what the players’ new walk-up music is (it’s hard to keep up with Brandon Phillips, who uses a different song at each at bat in the game and changes them constantly; say what you will about Scott Rolen using Coldplay, at least he’s consistent and you know who’s at bat!). I’m seriously considering adding Go Cubs Go by Steve Goodman. Yes, I know they’re our division rivals, but we attended a game at Wrigley last year and even though the Reds lost, it was kind of cool to hear the entire stadium sing along to this after the game. I’m a die-hard Reds fan, but I’m also a baseball fan and appreciate the history and traditions. And it’s the Cubs; it’s not like they’re a huge threat. Another song I might add is Forget You, the Cee Lo version of which Brandon Phillips used sometimes. But I’m thinking of using the version from The Muppets movie, as squawked by Camilla and the Chickens. We’ll see how many times we can listen to that before we can’t stand it any longer. For my husband? Probably not even once!